Two Souls
by diodic
Summary: After the war, everyone tries to adjust to their new lives with some of them changing more than others. [JaunexPyrrha]
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This is my first attempt at a this, so I hope you enjoy it.**

Two Souls

After years of hard work, Salem had been defeated and a certain degree of peace had returned to the kingdoms. Grimm remained the same problem that they had since the birth of humanity, but that was an evil that could be dealt with. The heroes of Vale and all of Remnant were team JNPR and team RWBY, but this is not a story of their triumph on the battlefield. Rather, it is the story of finding happiness after their ordeal and the rekindling of a flame that could do just that.

The heroes, now worldwide celebrities returned to Vale together, but they could not return to Beacon as students despite their time there being cut so short. They had no way to enter a school for hunters and huntresses in training with their resumes clearly proving that they had become the most accomplished hunters and huntresses in all of Remnant along with their advanced ages.

Yet, they currently lived in a very nice four bedroom apartments in downtown Vale right across the hall from each other. After everything that they went through, to instantly separate just felt wrong, so they attempted to recapture what they had as students at Beacon before it was ripped away from them if only for a short time.

With their new social statuses as world renowned celebrities, they had plenty of ways to make money even in times of piece. Whether it be for endorsement deals or simply making an appearance, there were plenty of people willing to throw wads of cash at them for even the simplest of tasks.

Yang, more so than any other member of the group, fed off of this and lead a rather exciting life of travel as she gave endorsements and even had a part in a movie. She had all the attention in the world and absolutely loved it, but she always came back to the apartment complex they all called home when she needed too.

Weiss took a very different route and ignored the spotlight completely while diving head first into her new role as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. She went so far as to move the headquarters of the company to Vale for a couple of reasons. First, Weiss saw it fit to sever such close ties that the company had to the Atlas government after so many of her company's tech ended up in the hands of the White Fang and other enemies that sought the destruction of the kingdoms. This also gave her more control as the Atlas government lost their input into the company. The board of directors opposed the move due to the loss of revenue from no longer having the government contracts, but not a single pencil pusher dared say that to the CEO and hero of Remnant. The second reason was to make sure her work was where she called home, Vale.

Weiss even personally hired Yang to be a spokes person for their lines of advanced robotic prosthetics. The tag line: 'There're the Schnee's knees.' Despite how much Weiss hated it, Yang would not sign on without it, and sales were up leaving her little room to complain.

The other two members of team RWBY chose slightly more slow paced lifestyles after saving the world. Blake used her celebrity status for a small amount of time until she saved up enough money to open a book store of her own called 'Cats Corner'." She was still somewhat active in faunus rights, but she chose to do more work in the background rather than at rallies so as to not let her former affiliation with the White Fang stain the now peaceful cause. She worked with Weiss to change faunus labor practices in the Schnee Dust Company which had a lasting impact through all of Remnant. It was gratifying to finally have the power to actually enact change. The only down side was that her book store was rather successful and busy giving her little time to read, but it was a tradeoff she was willing to take as she was always glad to introduce reading into children's lives.

Ruby had only one thing that she wanted to do with her life ever since she was a child and that was to be a huntress. However, their multiyear mission had taken alot out of the girl. She would take an odd job here and there to pay the bills while spending most of her time training for when she would be ready to fight the Grimm once again as a Huntress. She also spent alot of time relaxing and trying to recover mentally.

Jaune had likely come the farthest of the group after using fake transcripts to get to Beacon. Their journey forced him to become a great deal more than the bumbling fool that they had come to know and love at Beacon. Speaking of Beacon, he was the headmaster as the school reopened its doors. Ozpin's fate was never discovered even after all this time, so the Vale council was forced to look for a suitable replacement. Jaune Arc, hero of Remnant, master tactician, and the man known as the great shield for his ability to create an impenetrable shield that he discovered to be his semblance was an obvious candidate even being as young as he was. Jaune, still as modest as the day that Ruby met him, tried to turn down the offer simply because he didn't think he disserved it. Pyrrha and the rest would not hear of that, and Jaune ended up accepting the offer.

Ren and Pyrrha would end up joining him as professors themselves. Ren's patience, honed through years spent with Nora, was perfect for teaching the next generation of hunters and huntresses. Pyrrha would be taking over Gylnda Goodwitch's old position as she had simply requested to be assigned to a lecture course. The years had taken the alot out of her as well, and she looked forward to less responsibilities and less stress. Also, the idea of being assistant to Jaune, one of the worst students she ever had, did not feel right to her.

Lastly, Nora was the sole member of team JNPR not to join the staff at Beacon for a couple of reasons that she and Jaune agreed on. Instead, she did work very similar to Yang, but electing to stay in Vale for the most part to not be too far from Ren for obvious reasons. Still, she had the opportunity to team up with Yang a couple of times as doubles in combat tournaments. They were currently undefeated.

All of these heroes, now older and occasionally wiser, had begun to settle into their new lives. Pyrrha was in her bathroom getting ready for a date with Jaune. While Jaune had come the furthest in the past couple of years, Pyrrha had the most... complications. While everyone including herself had somewhat gotten used to the largest changes, some of the little ones still bugged her. She couldn't apply makeup like she had been able to before as the her color scheme had completely changed forcing her to adapt. She sat in her small bathroom in front of the mirror carefully applying her makeup for the evening, and she was getting better at it. It is the small daily routines that are the hardest to change. She stepped out of the bathroom into the modest bedroom that simply contained a bed in one corner with a dresser next to it. On the other walls there was a T.V. and a desk respectively. The room was white and the landlord did not allow alteration leaving only a few decorations on the wall to try to decorate the space. She put on a red blouse and black sweater with a simple pair of jeans and white athletic shoes.

 _Are you going to return a book or going on a date._

As much as Pyrrha could get used to everything else, this voice would apparently give her no piece. She looked in the mirror at her pale and smooth skin and raven hair that had once belonged to Cinder. Unfortunately for Cinder, her plan to absorb Pyrrha the same way she absorbed the power of the maiden had eventually backfired. Pyrrha was the dominant soul after a stirring speech from Jaune that would have stirred a tear from even the manliest of men. I was not privy to that speech, but I can assure you it was awesome.

 _I think I look perfect for a date at the movies._

 _Really? No wonder it took the destruction of Vale to get you two to kiss. Show some skin._

Surprisingly it was Cinder that had become more comfortable with the arrangement first. After seeing their victory over Salem, Pyrrha taking control was probably the only reason she had been spared. Plus, where could she go now even if she took over? The seven most powerful hunters in the world would hunt her to the ends of the world again even if she could take could take control back. Ultimately, she was stuck with one unlikeable option.

 _It's a movie, and I don't want to be cold._

 _You have assets. MY ASSETS. Use them._

 _I know what I'm doing, so don't stay out of it. I am not going to let you take Jaune away from me again._

 _You're still upset about the time I destroyed your body and absorbed your soul._

 _Yes._

 _That was years ago. Jeez, you really hold a grudge._

 _This conversation is over._

Pyrrha met Jaune in their living room where he was patiently waiting. Jaune had changed as well just not to the same degree that Pyrrha had changed. He had finally filled out his frame with a muscular build replacing the lanky and awkward boy that Pyrrha first fell in love with. It was no secret that he had quite a few female admirers now with his social status only increasing their numbers.

 _Well, if you were going to take my body to seduce a man at least it's that one._

 _Shut up._

 _He fills out those clothes really well._

 _I said shut up._

Pyrrha had to try to start the conversation with Jaune and just hope that Cinder would stay quiet for at least a little while.

"Sorry it took so long."

"No problem. One of the perks of living together is I get to waiting on my own couch."

Jaune nervously rubbed his neck after being slightly embarrassed when he reminded himself he was living with Pyrrha... kind of. It was certainly a transition for everyone for everyone now that Pyrrha had the face and body of someone they swore to kill for revenge. It had taken alot, but Jaune now saw the girl before him as Pyrrha rather than Cinder. Jaune would be lying if he said he wasn't happy that her new body was also very attractive, but he would never tell a soul that.

Being in downtown Vale was very convenient as they could walk to anywhere they wanted to go except for work at Beacon. It was rather rare for a headmaster to live off campus due to having to deal with the children after hours, but it was not forbidden. Plus, Glynda was more than capable of handling anything that came up at night.

"This is the first time we have been able to go out since we took our jobs at Beacon. DO you think we will get any jeers if we run into any of our students?"

"We'll probably get stopped by someone regardless. We're kind of famous now."

Unfortunately Pyrrha was right as she usually was. It took a few selfies and a couple of autographs, but they made it to their seats in the theatre. It was a simple romantic comedy, but it was a perfect date movie.

 _Hurry up and grab his hand._

 _I'm not sure that is appropriate._

 _You have been dating since you got back to Vale. Snails move faster than this._

Pyrrha hesitated but ended up taking Jaune's hand during a more romantic moment in the movie. He reciprocated by giving her hand a slight squeeze.

 _See? That wasn't so hard._

 _I suppose not._

 _Ok now lean in and undo that top button. Give his something to see other than the movie._

 _What!? That's too much._

 _It's dark in here. No one is going to see except Jaune._

 _J-Just no._

 _Is that uncertainty?_

 _No._

Unfortunately, it was. Pyrrha was not guaranteed to be the dominant soul in the body. Any weakness, even one as small as, this could be exploited by the dormant Cinder although only for a short period of time. Pyrrha began to feel her body move without her permission. Jaune suddenly felt Pyrrha right next to him and felt her breathe on her neck. He glanced over only to see a slight amount of cleavage showing. He wiped his head back to the movie so quickly a Pyrrha could just about hear the crack of a whip.

"Too bold?" Pyrrha whispered at the surprised Jaune.

"N-Nope. Just fine."

Pyrrha had decided to leave out the part where Cinder was able to influence that. The others had been so accepting of her; she didn't want to worry them in the slightest. For the most part, Cinder couldn't do anything, but she was starting to get bold when it came to Jaune as he was the only thing that caused her to falter. Despite everything, they were still rather childish around each other.

Fortunately, Cinder was happy to leave it at that one risqué move.

 _See? Look how flustered he is._

 _...It is rather cute_

They stayed that way the rest of the movie except for the kiss they shared at the climax, but Pyrrha didn't need any coaxing from Cinder at that point. Although, she was not free from mocking.

 _Weak._

 _It was a perfectly good kiss._

 _Maybe for your mother._

After the movie, they quickly left to get to the next portion of their date: a nice dinner. They had reserved a private booth in the back of the restaurant to avoid any more interruptions from fans. It was a rather uneventful dinner as the two ate doing little more than enjoy each other's company and some terrible story telling. The date did get a little weird on the way home in that they got to witness something they had never seen before.

It was very late during their walk home and they took a back alley in an attempt to find a shortcut home. It would turn out not to be a shortcut, but it became an enjoyable experience all the same. While in the alley, they were suddenly stopped by a man in black clothing wielding a small knife.

"Look buddy. If you and your dame here don't want to get hurt I suggest you..."

At that moment a car drove by and illuminated the alley for just a moment, but it was a moment that the mugger was able to see the faces of the people he was mugging. Unfortunately for Jaune and Pyrrha, the light was gone before they could see the look of realization that hit the man's face after the light faded.

Before either Pyrrha or Jaune could talk to the mugger or restrain him, he was on the ground with a scroll out, and his knife was sliding away from him.

"Hello, police. Yes, I was attempting to mug a couple just now, and I have decided to surrender myself to the authorities. I am currently unarmed and on the ground in the alley on 5th street next to the ice cream place. Uh huh. Thank you." He then looked up at the couple. "They are sending a squad car to pick me up." He then laid motionless with his face in the pavement.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other for a moment before laughing at this strange mugging attempt. They had noticed him before he jumped out, and they were simply going to try to talk to the man. The police arrived to arrest the man and spent the entire time laughing as well when they found out what happened.

"Well that was certainly interesting."

"I don't believe many people get to see a mugger restrain themselves. One of the perks of our current status."

 _Always nice to see worms recognize their place._

The rest of the trip home did not have anything quite as interesting as that, and the couple quickly arrived home. The others were asleep when they opened the door, so they went to get ready for bed after another kiss that made Cinder let out a painful groan.

 _You are terrible at this._

 _Will you let it rest it was a lovely evening._

 _You are slower than those sloths that Nora girl is always going on about._

As they went to their separate rooms and got ready for bed, that should have been the end of the night. However, as Pyrrha went to make sure the apartment door was locked, Jaune was getting a glass of water without a shirt on before telling Pyrrha good night. She was just flustered enough for Cinder to move their body to Jaune's room instead of their own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to my story filled with plot holes and spelling errors!**

Two Souls Chapter 2

"Well, that finalizes the cafeteria budget for next semester." Jaune sat at the head of the large table in the teacher's lounge as the professors of Beacon finished their morning meeting. Soon they would head into the school and educate the great hunters and huntresses of tomorrow, or they would at least try to stop the well armed teenagers from destroying the school. With this job, you take the little victories.

"That leads us to our final order of business. Glynda, if you found the fountain of youth you have to tell us. Those are the rules." The group turned to Glynda whom, despite the years of war and turmoil in Vale, looked remarkably the same as she had when Jaune first met her. Dr. Oobleck now had streaks of grey hair running across his head, and Port's mustache had lost a bit of its sheen. However, she just sat there taunting them.

"Do we have to do this every week?" Glynda rested her face on her hands and prepared for the usual headache .

"This does seem quite silly." Pyrrha simply gave Glynda a few pats on the back to try to help her through the ritual.

 _I'm with the others. This doesn't seem possible. Look at her! Even Ren has started to have doubts._

Ren was silent, but he joined the rest of the staff in glaring at her like a guilty defendant in a court house.

"If such a thing were discovered, it could greatly benefit mankind with the right kind of scientific research." Ooblech stated while taking a sip of his coffee as if this whole conversation wasn't insane.

"I don't have the fountain of youth." Glynda said through her hands with a very annoyed tone.

"And we will start believing you the moment you age." Port then held up an old photo of Glynda to compare the two. "Nope, still the same."

"Well we are not getting anything out of her this week, so meeting dismissed." Jaune stood up as the others did the same. He was still getting used to acting as the superior to the people he once looked up too, but he was settling into his role nicely.

Before they could reach the door, a screen lit up over the table indicating a conference call from General Ironwood. With a heavy sigh, the group got back in their seats.

"We need to make this quick. The students are starting breakfast, and I don't need to remind anyone here the amount of damage a single food fight can cause." With that, Jaune plastered on a fake smile and pressed to accept the call.

"Hello everyone." General Ironwood was seated at his desk in the same military uniform he always wore. "I want to make this brief. Now that order has been restored, it falls upon us to ensure the continued piece in all of Remnant. I believe that the best course of action would be to work behind the scenes as to not cause panic in the governments or general population." Before he could continue, Jaune cut him off.

"Ironwood, we have already had this conversation. We are not forming any secret societies aimed at keeping the world safe from the shadows."

"Why not?" Ironwood lost his serious expression as his face became more pleading. Jaune simply pointed at his partner Pyrrha who now resided in the body of Cinder Fall.

 _Hey, this is a great body. I say you came out the winner in all this...I guess that makes Jaune the real winner._

 _I don't think it's about appearance. Its more about the idea of hiding the truth._

 _Speaking from experience, shadow organizations can be pretty fun._

 _You caused the death of millions!_

 _Yup._

"Are you still mad about that?" Before Ironwood could go any further Jaune ended the call. Jaune now looked at his staff with an annoyed expression while Glynda avoided eye contact. One of the biggest reasons that Glynda decided not to take her old job back once Jaune was appointed as the Headmaster was due to her guilt from what happened to Pyrrha during the Battle of Beacon. She never told him that especially after he and Pyrrha had been so quick to forgive her for her role.

"Now, go make sure our students are well cared for." Jaune and the rest got up again and went to prepare for their classes. Pyrrha's combat classes were not until the afternoon, so she followed Jaune back to his office to help with any administrative work.

Jaune grabbed Pyrrha's hand as they walked likely motivated by the argument with Ironwood.

"Jaune, I know you are upset, but we are going to get quite the teasing from the students if they see this." Her words couldn't hide the join on her face from the contact.

 _Handholding makes you this happy. Are you a child?_

 _I did have some time taken from me as I recall, so I might have missed my time to mature._

"Well we did miss a few years of getting teased by our classmates, so this could make up for that time. Plus, we can give detention now if they go too far." Jaune laughed lightly as Pyrrha did the same.

The two arrived in Jaune's office which was still in the CCT despite Jaune's protest. He didn't really care to work in the same setting where Pyrrha originally lost her life, but all the space for the school had been built in allocated by the time he was appointed. He was able to make some changes such as changing the large gears to be enclosed in the ceiling and no longer visible, but that alteration was simply because he didn't find it visually appealing like Ozpin.

The work load was not extremely heavy thanks to one of the two documents that Ozpin had left to whomever would be the next headmaster of Beacon. The first was a coffee recipe that was so amazing Jaune actually thought about quitting as headmaster to open a coffee house. The second was a plan to deal with the workload that came with being headmaster. That document simply said "Make Glynda do it." While Jaune was far more responsible in his work, he still took that advice from time to time along with Pyrrha's help.

"Well that about finishes everything for today. I want to spend the rest of the day walking around giving cryptic advice that makes students wonder if I am incredibly wise or insane. It seemed to work for Ozpin, and it is fun" Jaune leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"I have about an hour till I need to go to my combat class, so I wouldn't mind getting something to eat first."

 _You have him alone in his office with no more work to get done. Whatever will you do?_

 _I just said I would like to get something to eat._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Really?_

 _Yes. I need to be ready for my combat class. Those children get relatively rowdy._

 _No! You have alone time. Use it. You don't even have alone time at home with Ren and Nora._

 _What should I do then?_

 _Start flirting. Be seductive. Make him want you._

 _Cider! We are at work right now that seems very inappropriate._

 _Alright, think of it like this. You were complaining how you didn't get time together with Jaune at Beacon because of me. Well, now is the time to take it back. Break the rules that you didn't get the chance too as a student._

 _Hmmm... That does make sense. It was unfair that I was robbed of all of those moments._

 _There it is! Now just like we worked on. Go get him._

"Pyrrha? Is everything alright?" Jaune was starting at Pyrrha with a confused look on her face as Pyrrha ended her conversation with Cinder.

"Everything is fine. I was simply lost in thought." Pyrrha smiled back attempting to assure Jaune that everything was fine.

Pyrrha's work attire consisted of a black blouse and matching knee length skirt with slim fitted red coat. She also wore grey stockings and black heels. Jaune simply wore a grey suit with a blue tie. When preparing for their roles at Beacon, they had a hard time deciding on what sort of attire would be appropriate, so they simply modeled themselves after Ozpin and Glynda.

Pyrrha calmed her nerves as she removed her coat and placed it over the back of her chair. She leaned over the back of Jaune's chair and placed her mouth right next to Jaune's ear.

"Maybe we could do something else with our free time?" Pyrrha attempted to sound seductive, but the question came out relatively plain and unable to convey the intended message.

"Like what? I guess we could get a jump on some of our other work."

 _Two things. First, no one can actually be that dense. Second, that was terrible._

 _Sorry. Some people don't use seductive as our default tone of voice. It's difficult._

 _Well keep trying._

"Jaune, I meant other things." Pyrrha turned Jaune's desk chair around and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Well can you explain it?" Jaune simply tilted his head unable to comprehend what Pyrrha could possible mean.

"W-well, I mean..." Pyrrha blushed bright red as she tried to vocalize what she wanted to do with Jaune.

 _I don't know what to say! Were his shoulders always this broad?_

 _I think that is my cue._

 _Cinder! You stay out of this._

Pyrrha's face suddenly had a seductive grin as she sat on Jaune's lap placing her head next to Jaune's while wrapping her right arm around his neck to stroke it lightly.

"What would any adults do with this much alone time?" Finally, everything clicked for Jaune. As he realized his current position, he tried to gently move Pyrrha, but she was not moving.

"P-pyrrha! We're at work right now." Unable to move her, Jaune had turned his head away while gripping the arm rest as hoping that ignoring everything would suddenly stop her.

Rather than say anything else, Cinder moved her arm from his neck to his cheek and turned his head, so they were looking into each other's eyes only inches away from each other. She then moved to her head to kiss Jaune tilting her head slightly to the left as she slowly moved forward.

Suddenly, a picture of Ironwood popped up on the screen being emitted by Jaune's desk. Jaune quickly turned around with Cinder still in his lap and accidentally accepting the call in the process.

"Did I catch you at a bad time? Anyway, I have stumbled into some relatively secret information." Ironwood seemed completely unfazed by the situation as if this was a normal occurrence with Glynda and Ozpin. "This information could be vital for the safety of all of Remnant."

"DAMN IT IRONWOOD! I SAID NO SECRET SOCIETIES!"

"...Ozpin was way more fun than you."

Jaune quickly shut off the monitor as he realized his current situation with Pyrrha. Pyyrha hopped up from his lap and grabbed her coat on the way out.

"Well I guess I should get ready for class." Pyrrha quickly left before Jaune could respond.

 _Cinder! You almost kissed Jaune!_

 _What are you worried about? He would still think it was you._

 _But it wasn't me. It wasn't my will or my body it was just you, and that is too much._

 _Awe, are you worried about losing your knight to me?_

 _I am not losing Jaune to you. Not again._

 _Then you are going to have to do better than that._

 **AN: So one thing I am working on is when to refer to her as Cinder and when to refer to her as Pyrrha. It should only be Cinder when Cinder is in control of the body, and I am not looking from Jaune's perspective. Jaune still thinks it is always Pyrrha.**


	3. Chapter 3

Two Souls Chapter 3

"I cannot wait to get home and become one with the couch." Jaune placed his hands in the air to stretch out before allowing them to fall behind his head. "What about you Pyrrha?"

"I think that the couch sounds wonderful." Pyrrha gave him a soft smile as they continued walking to their apartment. "However, we should be sure we are ready for Nora and Yang coming into town tomorrow."

"Oh. I forgot about that." Jaune growned as he let his shoulders drop. "Ren, please remind Nora it's a weekday, and some of us have normal job hours."

Ren simply nodded. War had taken alot from all of them, but it could not take that girl's energy. Add in that Nora and Yang had just won another doubles tournament, and they were going to be extra rowdy. They entered their apartment building and took the elevator to the top floor.

"At least we can sleep tonight and prepare." Jaune began to fish his keys out of his pocket, but he was abruptly stopped when the door was opened and Ren was tackled to the ground by a pink and orange blur.

"Renny! We won again, but I'm sure you already knew that. You are so on top of things. Not like me. I can't stay focused keep track of anything except for fighting. I hope you let the kids at school watch it. They have a lot to learn from me. I mean, I'm strong, even stronger than Yang, and we made everything go boom, and..." Nora was finally cut off when Jaune pulled her off Ren to allow him to stand back up.

"Nora breath. Weren't you supposed to be at your sponsor party tonight and fly back tomorrow?" Jaune held Nora in place by her shoulders while looking her in the eyes.

"Yup!" Nora smiled as she responded.

"Then why are you not there?" Jaune was struggling to hold Nora in place as she continued to vibrate despite his hold.

"Ugh! Those things are so stupid. We wanted to party with you guys, so let's hit the town!" Nora finally managed to break free and pointed back to the elevator that the rest had just emerged from.

"Nora, isn't that a tad bit irresponsible?" Jaune was now in full lecture mode with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are they going to do? Replace us with another two huntresses that saved the world?"

Jaune opened his mouth to respond, but was unable too. They all actually had pretty good job security because of that little tidbit.

"I have to agree with Nora." Pyrrha was trying not to laugh at Jaune's current helplessness in the face of Nora's argument. "Though I don't have the fondest memories of sponsors, so I might be slightly bias."

Suddenly the door for team RWBY's apartment swung open revealing Yang holding a bottle of rum in one hand and Ruby's head locked in her other arm.

"Alright! Lets hit the town!" Yang raised her bottle before taking a small swig all while Ruby was struggling to free herself from her sister.

"Someone help me please." Ruby pleaded as she was unable to free herself from her older sister's grasp.

"Yang, it's a Tuesday. We have work for the rest of the week." Jaune placed his right hand on his forehead as he attempted to reason with the two crazies. "Can this wait till the weekend?"

"Why? Just so you and Pyrrha can stay in and Yang?" A collective groan immediately followed Yang's attempt at humor. Like Nora's energy, it was just one more thing that war couldn't take from the group no matter how much they hoped it would.

"We don't do that." Pyrrha said with her face as red as Ruby's cloak.

 _Yet. We'll get there._

 _I will get there. You will do no such thing._

 _At the very least I'll get to watch._

 _... I hate you._

Since the incident in Jaune's office, it was becoming clear that Cinder had begun to substitute other goals for her failures of world dominance; that objective was Jaune. Whether this was a side effect of Pyrrha's own love for the boy bleeding over into Cinder, a true change in Cinder, or Cinder simply trying to take control of their current life was irrelevant to Pyrrha.

"Regardless of how you spend your alone time, we are going to Junior's!" As Yang released Ruby so that she could thrust both of her arms in the air, Ruby and the rest of the group, except for Nora, stood like statues with horrified looks on their faces from their last trip to Junior's.

"So much property damage." Jaune muttered.

"I-Is it even open again?" Ruby asked sheepishly.

"Yup! We checked on our way home!" Nora said excitedly as she began to pull Ren's stunned form to the elevator along with Pyrrha.

"Wait!" Jaune and Ruby were being towed by Yang as she followed Nora. "We can't possibly go out to celebrate without Weiss and Blake right?" Jaune was pleading as he searched for any excuse to get out of this situation. He did not need the students to see himself and Pyrrha show up to school exhausted from a night out with Yang and Nora. Worse of all, with their fame there would be pictures on the net by morning!

"I already talked to them. Weiss helped us get the trip home, but she said she had to work late with Blake on 'stuff.'" They were in the elevator now with little to no hope of escape. Not to mention that had just found out that Weiss and Blake had abandoned them to this. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren decided they would have to pay for this in some form or fashion via a telekinetic link of pure hatred.

At the SDC, Weiss and Blake were enjoying some tea having finished all planning for next phase of their push for Faunus rights in the workplace.

"D-Did we do the right thing? We abandoned them." Blake looked over the table at Weiss.

"It had to be done. You remember what happened the last time right?" Weiss placed down her cup as they both adopted horrified expressions.

"I didn't even know that could be set on fire..."

"They never found Frank..."

Back with the rest of the group, Jaune had lost hope of getting any sleep tonight. Ruby was powerless against Yang, Pyrrha still hated to disappoint, and Ren found years ago that the best options was to go and limit damage as much as possible. After a short walk, the gang arrived at Juniors with a large group of paparazzi in tow. While the media would not be allowed in the club, they would patiently wait for the group to reemerge.

Rather than walking in, one of Junior's goons stopped them at the door with a look of terror and visibly shaking as he stood in their way.

"P-Please, f-follow me." The nameless goon barely able to stand as he silently hoped for mercy.

"What do you want? We are just here to have some fun." Yang looked annoyed and the poor goon sunk back.

"J-Junior just wants to t-talk to you." The goon was now shielding his face and prepared for the worse.

"Come on Yang. Can we put off causing a huge amount of trouble for at least a few minutes." Ruby stood between an irritated Yang and the cowering man trying to help the poor soul.

"Fine. It better be quick." Yang stared the goon down before following a second suited man through a locked side entrance.

Back outside, the man tasked with stopping Yang had collapsed onto the floor not moving except for a few slight twitching motions. Two others lifted his body to take him inside to rest.

"He just looked that girl in the eyes and asked her to do something. Steve is the bravest man here."

"Did he piss himself?"

"The bravest man here."

The gang reached Junior's large office that overlooked the main section of the club from the second story. The man that led them quickly ran off to avoid any further contact with the group. He did not want to end up like Frank.

Once alone Junior quickly hit his knees on the floor in front of the group raised his clasped hands to plead.

"I have just reopened the place. Please don't destroy it again. We still haven't found Frank." Junior looked up at Yang very specifically addressing her.

"Junior! How could you think we would do such a thing? We are merely here to enjoy our night." Yang put her right hand over her chest as she feigned being hurt by his words.

"Please. I am trying to go legit, but I can't do that if my clubs main reputation is from being destroyed by you."

"Hey, most people have to pay to have our names attached to their businesses. Really, we're doing you a favor." Yang had a giant smirk to go with her playful tone as she continued to tease Junior.

"I am paying for it in repairs!" Junior continued pleading even as he rose from his knees to stand again.

"Ok, how about this? Weiss Schnee will pay for any damages we cause tonight."

"Yang, I don't thing Weiss" Jaune was quickly cut off as Yang put her hand over his mouth.

"-will hesitate to help out. I agree Jaune." Yang pulled out her company credit card; one of the many perks of being a spokesperson for the SDC. "Whatever happens just put it on my tab."

"Ok. I can agree to that." Junior smiled for the first time as the possible financial burden from the night was lifted from his shoulders. He went back to his desk. "You have a great time then."

With that they were finally free to hit the club and enjoy the night as Yang and Nora intended. Nora was quick to monopolize Ren, and Yang was actively working on teaching Ruby to open up and have fun. Ruby had never really understood clubs or even drinking. Why would you ruin a perfectly good soda with something that tasted like bad cough medicine? This left Jaune and Pyrrha to fend for themselves.

While the paparazzi was not allowed inside of the club, other patrons could be just as annoying asking for selfies and autographs. This type of environment also caused a very different type of activity from those around them: flirting. Yang had managed to use this to avoid paying for drinks. She had no problems affording the drinks, but it became something of a challenge for the busty blond.

Ruby did not enjoy the attention like Yang did, but it had died down once the media learned that she was in an official relationship with Weiss Schnee. Flirting with Ruby could cause your assets to be frozen and your job to be lost. While Weiss was quite the professional when acting as the SDC's CEO, she could get a bit petty when it came to Ruby. Ren was similar to Ruby in that he did not like the extra attention from females, but Nora acted as a very strong deterrent for any women that even thought of approaching the boy.

Jaune and Pyrrha's somewhat awkward nature lead to the media not having officially calling them a couple. Even the most ruthless of the paparazzi couldn't even manage to get a picture of them kissing, so everything was speculation. This was causing a great deal of stress as a number of women had started approaching Jaune.

 _Would not take much to burn them to a crisp._

 _That is absolutely not happening._

 _Better yet, kiss the boy and claim our property._

 _MY property. I mean, he is no one's property. We are in a relationship. He is simply trying to be polite and let the girls down easy._

 _Then let the world know that._

 _We are simply not fond of grand public shows of affection._

 _Speaking of 'shows of affection' where are our admirers?_

 _Simple. They look here and still see the evil witch that almost destroyed all of Vale._

 _So? I'm still hot._

Pyrrha was pulled from her conversation with Cinder as another girl started flirting with Jaune only this one was being more aggressive and more handsy than the others.

"Come on. Just one dance? I promise I won't disappoint you." The girl had long brown hair, brown eyes and a small green dress that hugged her curves. She had grabbed Jaune's arm and held it between her breasts leaving the boy flustered.

"S-Sorry, but I am here with someone else." Jaune gave his standard reply as he glanced over to Pyrrha, but the girl seemed unaffected and continued pushing Jaune for a dance.

 _Still against the burning idea?_

 _Less so now._

 _Well? Are you going to do anything?_

 _I... I don't know. Jaune has always handled this well._

 _Well I am going to do something._

In a blink, Cinder had taken control and leaned over the small table to grab Jaune by the back of the head. She pulled him in and met his lips with her own as they began a very passionate kiss. Jaune was quick to allow his partner to lead and did not back away. During the kiss, Cinder opened her eyes to stare down the girl that had been trying so hard to get Jaune's attention causing her to reluctantly and angrily concede.

Before Cinder could truly enjoy the victory, Pyrrha regained control to continue the kiss herself. After a moment, Pyrrha released Jaune and they both took a deep breath.

"Wow Pyrrha. Thanks for the save from that girl." Jaune began to rub the back of his head not sure how to respond to such an aggressive and public act from Pyrrha.

"Not a problem Jaune." Pyrrha replied with a large smile on her face, but she was cursing herself inside. She had allowed Cinder to steal a kiss from Jaune, and that was not acceptable. The fear that Cinder was gaining more control was a dark shadow that slowly crept over her mind.

After that, the party continued with dancing and plenty of drinking as Yang and Nora refused to allow their friends to rest. Late into the night, when all the patron were nice and drunk, one poor fool spilled his drink and a small amount got into Yang's hair. From there, the night turned into a combination of screaming, fire, and eventually darkness.

"Class, today we will be practicing stealth. I am going to ask all of you to not make a sound for the rest of the class." Pyrrha addressed the class with an out of place pair of sunglasses and a large container of water.

"Does this have anything to do with the nightclub that burned down last night?" One brave or stupid student asked.

"No. And you failed at being quite so you get an 'F' for the day." The rest of the class remained silent.

"Miss Schnee. We appear to have a very large charge on a company card that was issued to Yang Xiao Long." The man addressing Weiss was dressed in a dark suit and looked the same as the thousands of other employees to Weiss. Weiss took the paper that the man handed her and gave it a quick look.

"Use money from my personal account to pay the charge." She gave the man back the paper and continued to work. After the man left she muttered something to herself. "Still worth it."

 **AN: One thing I was asked about was why Cinder was acting like this. I tried to explain my reasoning in the first chapter, but might not have done a good job (first story and all). Basically being attached to Pyrrha meant she watched them in their journey and saw them defeat Salem. This show of power caused her to realize she did not stand a chance against them even if she did take control back. All her plans were hopeless, and she was imprisoned . Messing with Pyrrha and Jaune was a way to entertain herself in her prison. However, it has begun to offer her a way to take back control. How does she really feel about Jaune? What does she plan to do if she gains control? I hope to answer this and other questions moving forward.**

 **And OMAKE for reasons. Yeah just kind of wrote this randomly based on the misspelling of Jaune's name.**

"What is going on? The school is a total mess, and everyone seems to think it's my fault. I took the morning off, so how did I cause all of this?" Jaune ranted as he entered his office. He had already been chewed out by Glynda about his 'behavior,' but he had no idea what she was talking about. Even Pyrrha had simply refused to talk to him.

As Jaune shut his office door behind him, his own chair spun around to reveal a man that looked exactly like except with a small villainous mustache curled at the ends.

"Juane! I should have known this was your doing." Jaune raised his finger accusingly at the man. "Come to ruin my school and my reputation?"

"Si senor Jaune." Juane began to stroke the small white cat named Snowball resting in his lap. "I have come to ruin you the same way you ruined me."

"I had no choice Juane. You were completely out of control. You illegally downloaded five whole movies." Jaune had his hands on the desk now making somewhat uncomfortable eye contact with the villainous Juane.

"The police treated me like an animal, so that's what I became." Juane slammed his fist into the desk, but Jaune didn't flinch. "I was stuck there for two hours and they forced me to pay a fine of 100 lien. How could you ever hope to understand what I went through?"

"I hoped that the experience could help you see the error of your ways. Now, I see you are simply rotten to your core."

"Now it will take your custodial staff up to six hours to clean up the mess I have caused. Those mustard stains are a real pain. Beacon will never be the same." Juane finally stood from the chair while gently placing Snowball back on the seat. "Now, we have our final battle Jaune."

Juane revealed his devastating weapon: a pistol that doesn't do anything special. Jaune pulled out his sword and shield that also don't do anything interesting. Both weapons were immediately thrown to the side for the ensuing slap fight. Not going to lie to you; it was pretty pathetic.

Juane attempted to call timeout after taking a few hits, but Jaune would not relent. Even after the constant whining from Juane that timeouts should be allowed, Jaune pressed on. After a particularly violent slap, Juane stumbled back through the window of the office and plummeted to his death.

"Finally, it's over." Jaune breathed heavily as he looked down through the broken window at his evil twin brother's final resting place. He paid little attention to the cat that was meowing manically.

"All according to plan." Snowball simply licked himself as he meowed his plans for all to hear.

Unfortunately, both Snowball and Jaune were too distracted by either the advancement of evil plans or the emotional toll of killing your evil twin when Jaune sat down at his desk to avert disaster.

Snowball did not survive. Jaune had saved all of Remnant from the tyranny of Snowball, but he mostly just cried about accidentally killing a cat.


	4. Chapter 4

Two Souls Chapter 4

Pyrrha found herself in a familiar place surrounded by nothing but darkness and a single figure standing across from her. She had been here numerous times before all in vain attempts to overtake Cinder before she was rescued by her knight. This time was very different; this time her role was reversed.

"You seem nervous Pyrrha." Cinder began to approach her through the darkness with a slow and confident stride. "Is something the matter?"

Pyrrha silently cursed her own weakness. Despite all the time she had remained in control, her previous victory over the accursed witch, and her determination to stay by Jaune's side, she was still the frightened one.

"Why are you doing this? You can't possibly think you could defeat the others and continue your plans." Pyrrha clenched her fists in anger at both herself and the woman attempting to take everything from her yet again.

"You are absolutely right. I can't ever go back to the way things were before." Cinder was right in front of Pyrrha now and gently placed her hand on Pyrrha's cheek. "I simply don't want that anymore. I want what you have."

"Jaune?" Pyrrha grabbed Cinder's wrist and pulled her hand back down.

"Always thinking so small." Cinder pulled her wrist from Pyrrha's grip and began to slowly circle her. "I want everything. For the first time in my life, I have been able to experience a normal life away from Salem. You have things I could never gain through force. The innocent boyfriend that blushes just being near you, the respect of your peers, friends that would die for you with a smile on their face. You have given me the chance to have all of that. Cinder Fall could never hope for such a happy ending, but Pyrrha Nikos can."

Cinder stopped in front of Pyrrha to examine the shock in her face. Pyrrha had never stopped to consider that this raven haired witch would ever want anything other than power. Her friends would always stand as a deterrent to that goal. Cinder never wanted to take control because she could never hope to reach her goals, but she had new goals now.

Rather than waste her time trying to recapture her old life, she would adopt the identity of resurrected Pyrrha Nikos.

"T-They will never believe you. Jaune, all of them, they won't fall for your sick charade." Pyrrha's voice began to shake at the idea of being forced to watch as Cinder entered her life; forced to watch Cinder be with Jaune in her place.

"Oh, they will believe me, and I have you to thank for that." Cinder's face adopted a wicked grin as she continued to attack Pyrrha's insecurities. "All this time where I have been allowed to take control with Jaune and the others has opened the door for just that. Rather than tell your friends the truth, you decided to take the burden yourself. All of those instances you wrote off as simply becoming bolder and more confident. They have begun to accept that little lie. I will be able to fool them because you fooled them first."

Pyrrha dropped to her knees with her hands covering her face. She had tried to face Cinder alone yet again, and the results of their first battle seemed to be repeating themselves. She looked up in horror to see Cinder place her hand on her head, and tears began to flow down her cheeks. There was warmth, then darkness.

Pyrrha shot up while still in bed breathing heavily with sweat and tears pouring down her face. Her eyes began to dart around the room as her mind calmed with the familiar sight of her room still covered in darkness waiting for the morning sun. Maybe there was still time to correct her mistake. Maybe she could ask for everyone's help and reveal the truth. She wanted to shout to Jaune and correct her mistake, but not a sound could be heard even as she wanted to scream at the top her lungs.

 _Come now. Did you think I would tell you everything if you could still stop me?_

 _..._

 _Don't go and give me the silent treatment._

 _..._

 _Very well. I will give you one last piece of advice. Enjoy these fleeting moments of control. They are going to end very soon._

Cinder had gained enough control to even limit her movements to such a degree. She had simply been playing with Pyrrha and inserting herself in bits and pieces to allow the others to grow slightly accustomed to slightly different mannerisms. Left with no other option, Pyrrha began to cry.

For what felt like hours, but was likely only minutes, Pyrrha sat in her bed crying until a very gentle knock came to her door.

"Pyrrha? Is everything alright?" Jaune's voice was just outside her door and yet he seemed so far away. She could not confide in him, she could not ask for help, and she felt sick because of it. Despite lacking an answer from Pyrrha, Jaune cracked the door and peaked inside to see Pyrrha up in her bed trying to shield her eyes with her hands.

"Pyrrha, what's wrong." Jaune walked through the dark room to sit on the side of her bed. She lowered her hands and stuttered as she tried to explain knowing Cinder wouldn't allow the truth to come out.

"I-I had a bad dream." Pyrrha felt the warmth of Jaune's hand on her own.

"It's fine. It was just a dream." At that Pyrrha grabbed him and pulled him into a hug as she plunged her tear stained face into his shoulder.

"I saw Cinder and... and... and I don't want to lose you and everyone else ever again." Jaune returned the hug and gently stroked her hair to try and calm her down.

"Shhhh. It's ok. That is all in the past." Pyrrha wanted to scream that it was happening again. She wanted to tell him how wrong it was to try and fight alone, but it was too late. Cinder was slowly taking everything back. All she could do was cry into Jaune's shoulder and enjoy the warmth that his hug brought her.

Jaune simply laid down next to her without a word, and Pyrrha was eventually able to find sleep with Jaune in her arms for what she hoped would not be the last time.

As the sun finally peaked through the window and the alarm clock went off Pyrrha quickly realized that last night had not been just a bad dream; Cinder was currently in control. It was Cinder that was there to greet Jaune as he stirred.

"Good morning Jaune." To anyone else those words sounded normal and even sweet, but they cut Pyrrha deeper than any wound she had received in battle.

"Morning Pyrrha. Feel better?" Jaune raised his head slightly to look at his partner only to be pulled back down into her embrace.

"I am now."

"Glad to hear it. Now, I believe we have work." Despite Cinder's protests, Jaune pulled himself up and out of her bed to return to prepare for the day.

After he left, Cinder took a moment to admire her own body and enjoy the feeling of being in control again. She then prepared for work with the same ritual that Pyrrha had grown accustomed too before checking on her other half.

 _Adjusting too your old role well?_

 _..._

 _Don't worry too much. You will still get your time as we adjust._

 _..._

 _Oh, come now. There must be something you want to say after seeing this._

 _Please don't hurt him._

 _He is in capable hands._

The rest of the day proceeded as normal as any other to the casual observer with Cinder Fall playing the role of Pyrrha Nikos. As Cinder promised, Pyrrha was given some time in control and was even allowed to teach her combat class.

By the end of the week Pyrrha had worked her way all the way to the last stage of grief: acceptance. It was a mistake to hide it from Jaune and the others. After all, it was only with their help that she was able to take control at all. Instead, she allowed her pride to blind her, and she was paying the price. Cinder was handling her work well, and treating the others well enough that she couldn't even complain. She had been studying very diligently. At least her friends were happy.

"And that is how I lowered the company expenditures on printing paper by 0.1%." Weiss gave a proud smile after her story and chose to ignore the horribly bored faces of her peers.

"Weiss, I love you, but if you tell me one more story about cost savings you are sleeping on the couch tonight." Ruby gave a very serious smile that sent a chill down Weiss spine, and that is not easy to do.

"Yay, Ruby! Way to use that feminine charm to help the team." Nora pointed at Ruby with her hands shaped like guns. "Isn't it weird that all us partners ended up together-together. Was Ozpin secretly an awesome matchmaker? Also, when are Yang and Blake getting together?" Nora looked quizzically at Blake and Yang hoping for an answer.

"Nora, for the last time, neither of us is gay." Blake groaned through her hands in annoyance. Yang just wiggled her eyebrows at Blake ensuring the joke would go on and further aggravate Blake.

"Eh, I still ship it." Nora simply shrugged her shoulders at logic and moved on.

"On that awkward note, I am going to hit the hay." Jaune stood from the table where they had all been seated in team RWBY's apartment. "Dinner was great by the way."

"I guess that will be it for me as well." Cinder excused herself and followed Jaune back to their apartment across the hall.

After getting ready for bed and exiting the bathroom, Jaune found someone already in his bed.

"Ugh, Pyrrha. What are you doing?"

"Well, Ruby's little threat to Weiss got me thinking that I would sleep better if it was next to you. It really helped when I had that nightmare a few days ago."

"I-I mean if you want..." Jaune stumbled through the sentence, but he ultimately ended up in bed embracing his partner.

As Cinder fell asleep, there was not a single word from Pyrrha, but Cinder could feel the sadness and despair.

 **AN: Alright! Finally earning that drama tag.**


End file.
